The Cutlass Crow
by La Vik
Summary: As a child, Maribelle taught Jack everything he knows about being a pirate. Now, after nearly a lifetime of being separated, Maribelle has forgotten about what's real, and Jack has a thing or two to teach her about life.
1. The Second Hand Unwinds

My first PoTC story! Dude, if this is bad....no! Happy thoughts!

I don't own anything except Maribelle, and the Cutlass Crow. Plzthnx! **review!**

* * *

"A _pirate_?" a little girl scoffed, standing with her hands on her hips. "You couldn't be a pirate! It's just...you're joking, aren't you?"

Eight-year-old Jack Sparrow looked at the girl, wrinkling his nose in confusion. "I'm not kidding, Maribelle! What's so funny about being a pirate?"

"Nothing," she said, shrugging and cocking her head to the side. "But you're too short to be a pirate. _I _could be a pirate though," she added, running over to the rope swing tied to a large oak tree.

Jack Sparrow and Maribelle Winthrop lived in an orphanage- -a grungy old place that they couldn't wait to get away from. Neither of them liked any of the other children, only each other. They often played pirates, jumping off of tree limbs and into the water, and sword fighting with sticks off of trees. Of course, Maribelle often ended up getting a small whipping every day for the rips she made in her dress.

"You really ought to go play with the _other _girls," Mrs. Bickstrom, the matron, would always say. "That boy is no good for a pleasant young lady as yourself."

Of course, Maribelle had no desire to be thought of as a 'pleasant young lady', and went right on playing pirates with Jack, ripping the hems of her dresses, and paying her dues for her recklessness and unladylike behavior.

Still, it was something of a surprise when Jack told Maribelle that he actually wanted to _be _a pirate. "What do you know about being a pirate, anyway?" she asked. "I taught you everything that you know! Do you expect me to teach you _more_?"

"Maybe you're teaching me the wrong stuff," Jack snapped back. "I'm going to learn how to be a _real _pirate." Maribelle rolled her eyes.

"I _am _teaching you the real thing." She said, flipping her long brown hair arrogantly. "My father was pirate. That's how he died."

"You don't remember that," Jack snapped. "You can't. How long have you been here?"

"Only two years!" Maribelle yelled back. "I'm not like those _other _girls in there! I'm not here just because my father wanted a son instead of me. He died on a real pirate ship!"

Now, Jack was completely mesmerized. "Well, what happened, then?" he goaded, desperate for her to continue her story. Maribelle looked thrilled to finally be able to tell the story.

"I lived on a pirate ship for as long as I can remember," she said dreamily. "One night, another ship came to my father's- -he was captain of a ship called the Cutlass Crow. He sent me off with his first mate in a rowboat, and as we rowed away...my father's ship exploded. He was supposed to some after me and bring me back as soon as the fight was over, and they had found a safe place to make berth, but I knew...I knew that he couldn't anymore." She looked downward and kicked at the dirt on the ground with her toe. "That's all."

"Your father was a real pirate?" Jack yelled ecstatically. "That's it, then! You can teach me _everything_, and then we'll have our own ship!"

"We can't _both _be captain," Maribelle said matter-of-factly. "One of us would kill the other."

"Then we'll have **two **ships!" Jack said excitedly. Maribelle smiled widely.

"Two ships?" she asked. "Both as big the other, all plunder split down the middle. Do we have an accord?"

"What?" Jack said, cocking his head in confusion.

"Just say 'Aye,"" Maribelle said, shaking her head in exasperation. "It means you get it."

One Year Later

"Maribelle, could you come inside for a second?" Mrs. Bickstrom called from the window as Maribelle and Jack were playing outside as usual. Maribelle's head turned from where she stood, her "sword" pointed right at Jack's neck.

"But I'm _winning_!" she protested.

"This is more important than your silly game!" Mrs. Bickstrom said, "Come in here!" Maribelle squealed loudly in complaint as she came running through the door.

Once she entered Mrs. Bickstrom's office, she found that she was not only facing the old, pleasant-faced matron of the orphanage, but also a young couple, maybe of about twenty-five years each. Maribelle cocked her head at them.

"Oh, Maribelle!" Mrs. Bickstrom laughed, sweeping the girl in a hearty embrace. "You're going to have a nice family to stay with! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Them?" Maribelle asked. "Aye, they look sweet, Mrs. Bickstrom, but they don't look like their backs are strong enough to handle both me _and _Jack."

"Oh, no, dear," Mrs. Bickstrom said. "I never said Jack would be coming with you. You'll be going on your own."

"But..." she began quietly, "Jack and I were supposed to be pirates together, and split the plunder, and- -"

"My dear girl," said the young man, "I'm Mr. Callum, and this is my wife. We think you're a wonderful girl, and we just want for you to live with us. We're sorry you can't bring your friend with you, but think of this!"

"It will be an adventure," the young woman said. "Once you have your things ready, you'll sail with us to an island in the Caribbean! I think that's the place for you, my girl, much more so than stuffy old England."

"The Caribbean?" Maribelle asked in awe. "The _real _Caribbean? With islands, and pirates, and all of that?" The couple nodded, smiling sweetly. Maribelle looked at Mrs. Bickstrom, then out the window at Jack, who was practicing using a tree branch as a sword.

_He'll learn how to be a pirate by himself_, she thought, _I taught him enough, anyway. Besides, when I'm old enough, _**I'll **_be a pirate too, and then we'll do everything we said we would._

"I'll go," Maribelle concluded. "When do we leave?"

"Tonight, in an hour or two," Mr. Callum announced. Maribelle flinched, but nodded.

"I'll pack your things," Mrs. Bickstrom nodded, "You go play with your friend for you last hour, hm?" Maribelle nodded again, then ran back outside.

"What did they call you in there for?" Jack asked. "You didn't get a whipping already, did you?" Maribelle shook her head. "Well, then what for?"

"I'm leaving tonight," Maribelle said, quickly and simply. "There's a man and a lady in there who told me to come with them."

"WHAT?" Jack snapped. "You can't _leave_! What about our ships? What about- -"

"The Caribbean can't be that big!" Maribelle said. "Once we're old enough, we'll have our own ships, and then we'll go find each other."

"Why couldn't you just tell them to take me too?" Jack asked.

"They can't!" Maribelle said. "They barely look like they can handle ONE child! But both of US? We'd kill them!"

"They're rich, aren't they?" Jack snapped back. "You're going to go with them, plunder their mansion or something, and just keep it all from me."

"FINE!" Maribelle yelled back. "Maybe I don't want to a pirate with you anymore! I'll just do it on my own!"

"Maribelle, don't say that," Jack said, eyebrows furrowing.

"Why not?" she said, tears starting to gather behind her eyes. "You don't want to be friends with me anymore, so I'll just go!"

"I didn't mean it," Jack muttered. Maribelle just looked at him sadly.

"You'll be a good pirate without me, you know," she said. "You'll be the most feared pirate in the **entire **ocean. Just you wait."

"You'll always be better than me," Jack admitted grumpily.

"True," Maribelle laughed, "But some things just can't be helped. Here," She took the red bandanna out of her hair and handed it to him. "Every real pirate has one," she shrugged. "I've got tons more anyway."

Jack took it from her hand, then looked at her hair. Her wild hair was bedecked in the front with a small wooden bead and Oriental coins. She looked like a _real _pirate.

"Can you teach me one more thing before you need to leave?" Jack asked.

"Sure," Maribelle said right away, "What is it?"

"Teach me how to kiss," Jack said with a toothy grin, "Every good pirate needs to know how."

"You're not serious!" Maribelle laughed, but Jack just nodded. Maribelle shrugged, and leaned forward, pecking him quickly on the lips. "I don't know how either."

"Well," Jack said, "One day, I'll know how. I'll do it _much _better than you."

"Better than _me_?" Maribelle laughed. "That'll be the day."


	2. The Cutlass Crow II

I got reviews! Yay! haha

Thanx u guys!

Well, here we go again. I don't anything that i could get sued for, mmkay? Don't hurt me! plzthanx!

* * *

"Maribelle, come into the parlor for a moment!" Mrs. Callum called. Maribelle, now twenty-five years old, came running up the stairs of their estate in Port Royal.

"Yes, ma'am," she said, coming into the doorway, where the Callums were both seated.

"Let me have a good look at you," said Mr. Callum. Maribelle put out her arms and spun around obligingly. "You're one of the finest young ladies in Port Royal," he said, nodding appraisingly. "And still you have yet to find an adequate husband."

"A time for everything, I guess," Maribelle laughed weakly, bowing her head in a tired nod. Her hair, free of any ornaments and beads, was up in a very proper, conservative bun.

"Yes, and my dear girl, that time is _now_!" Mrs. Callum said joyously, making Maribelle jump slightly. "We've just received correspondence that the governor is looking for a new mistress,"

"No," Maribelle said immediately, making both Mr. And Mrs. Callum's heads turn.

"Why, what ever do you mean?' Mrs. Callum said. "We expected you to be thrilled about this opportunity."

"Yes, it's quite an opportunity indeed, and I'm honored that the governor would consider my hand in marriage," Maribelle said timidly, "But I can't accept. I've been friends with his daughter Elizabeth ever since I arrived here, and to suddenly be her stepmother..." She cut herself off and cringed.

"But think of it," Mr. Callum said, standing up with a grand gesture. "Think of the life you could have,"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing, and I've never imagined anything farther from the life I wanted," she said, shaking her head. "I've always been grateful to you for taking me in, but I have yet to forget my _real _parents."

"I know you had very different dreams back then," Mrs. Callum said sympathetically. "But, darling, that is _all _they were. They were dreams, love, and naught else."

"The governor...he's so _old_!" Maribelle said desperately. "It's ridiculous! He could die any day, god forbid."

"Yes, and you'd receive half of the inheritance," Mr. Callum pointed out as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's all that's important to you, isn't it?" Maribelle snapped in frustration. "Honestly, you're even _worse _than any pirates I've ever heard of!" She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I'm not standing for this anymore. I'm old enough to go out on my own, and it honestly doesn't matter if I _never _get married!" She stormed out of the room. Mr. and Mrs. Callum thought of it as nothing but a tantrum until, nearly an hour later as they were having their evening meal, they heard the heavy thud of the front door opening and closing harshly.

Maribelle had lived her entire life since moving to Port Royal as a proper young lady. The only reminder she found of the life she had once envisioned for herself was the occasional chat with a disguised pirate who docked his ship in Port Royal out of necessity. She'd planned for this day so long, the day she'd finally start on with the rest of her life.

"Finally making good on your threats, are you?" said the owner of a small ship that Maribelle was approaching. "I was beginning to think you'd never find your way here."

"Take me to Tortuga?" she asked, pulling out her money bag.

"Ten shillings." The man shrugged.

"Five," Maribelle snapped back, threatening to put her money away and look elsewhere. "It's barely a night's journey to Tortuga, and that's not worth ten."

"You know the area well for someone who's never been off of the island," the sailor shrugged. Maribelle smirked as she climbed aboard and tossed him five shillings.

* * *

"Oy," the sailor said, peering his head into the cabin he had loaned out to Maribelle, who had fallen asleep. She rolled over and looked up groggily. "We're nearing Tortuga. Get yourself ready."

"Aye," she groaned. "I'm ready as I'll ever be." She swiped up her small canvas bag with clothes and other things of sentimental value and stepped outside.

She had been to Tortuga before, as a very small child. She remembered that brief time as she stepped off of the ship, eyeing the other ships of all sizes in the harbor. She had come with her father because she had begged, and promised not to get into trouble. Of course, being the boisterous, mischievous character she was, she ended up in a card game, winning a fattened chicken, a pair of boots, and a sack of chewing tobacco- -all of which her father took possession of as soon as they were back on the ship.

Tortuga had changed very little since she had seen it last, and Maribelle felt slightly familiar with the place. She needed to go see someone she had met on the run on the docks of Port Royal. She headed into one pub whose name sounded familiar and felt lucky to find the face she was looking for.

"Gibbs!" she said, yelling over the unruly crowd. "Do you have what I asked you for?'

"Aye, Miss Winthrop," he called out as she came to stand next to him. "It's been waiting, tied up back there for nearly a month. Thought ye'd never have the nerve to come for her."

"Well, here I am," she shrugged. "Is she just what I told you?"

"I made sure it was perfect," Gibbs nodded. "Ye paid me handsomely for, so's I got the job done right."

"Then let me see it," she said, crossing her arms.

"Aye, later," Gibbs laughed, "But first ye need to prove you're worthy of her." He reached over the counter and poured her a large helping of rum. "Drink up, if ye think ye are enough of a pirate,"

"Course I am!" Maribelle snapped, taking it and downing it as fast as she could. Gibbs nodded in disbelief. "I'll be needing a room to sleep in for the night, until I get my wits about me."

"Aye," Gibbs nodded. "I guess I owe ye for not calling the Commodore on me while I was in Port Royal."

"Damn right, you owe me," Maribelle said, picking up her bag. "I'm taking the first room I fin, savvy?"

"Aye," Gibbs said affirmingly. "Bring your things to a room, then come out and I'll show ye what ye paid for."

"Paid _handsomely _for," Maribelle said as she walked up the stairs.

The first door she found was unlocked, leading into an empty room. She threw her things onto the bed and practically flew down the stairs. Gibbs stood at the bottom of the stairs, laughing.

"Should've guessed you'd be anxious to see," he said, waving for her to follow him out. They walked out to the docks and he led her to a small ship. "Had it built to look just like your father's,"

"Cutlass Crow II," she muttered. "One day I'll sail it. One day I'll be what I wanted to be all my life."

"Why not now?" Gibbs asked. "Tortuga's full of pirates. With your father's reputation, ye'd have no problem finding a crew."

"I'm a _girl,_" Maribelle laughed. "I honestly doubt anyone would choose to sail under me rather than a real pirate."

"Ye aren't the same little girl your father raised ye to be," Gibbs said, sticking out his jaw. "Proper life's been doing ye wrong."

"And I suppose I would have turned out better if I had stayed in the orphanage?" she asked miserably, looking out to the sea. "You knew my father well, Gibbs. The life he chose...I want it too. But I'm not the person I was born to be. I can't be that person without my father."

"He taught ye too well for you to forget it all," Gibbs said, shrugging. Maribelle looked at him oddly.

"Did I ever tell you about my only friend at the orphanage?" she asked.

"No," Gibbs said. "Never mentioned anyone you knew from that time."

"No one used to care much for me at the orphanage. I was odd," she continued. "I was fascinated by pirates, you see. I couldn't talk about anything else. Then, just after I arrived, a boy supposedly was found on the beach nearby with nothing but his name. He was a godsend. He listened to everything I ever said about pirates. We agreed to be pirates together, and have two ships. It was the perfect plan," Maribelle smiled reminiscently, staring out into the early morning sky. "I wonder what he'd be doing right now,"

"Do you know if any family ever took him?" Gibbs asked.

"Don't know," Maribelle shrugged. "I never spoke to him again after I left the orphanage. I heard he's made quite a name for himself now."

"Ye have?" Gibbs asked. "What business?"

"He's a pirate," Maribelle laughed, "He got exactly what we both wanted. Fancy that, eh?"

"What was his name?" Gibbs asked. "Maybe he's passed through here once or twice."

Maribelle's face flew to meet Gibbs's gaze brightly, her eyes shining with hope. She hadn't thought of the fact that her old friend might know this place. "Jack," she said, trying to mask her enthusiasm. "Jack Sparrow,"

"Bloody hell!" Gibbs swore loudly. "Ye should've spoken up quicker! He's 'ere right now! I'll take ye to see him right now! He didn't find himself a whore in the pub last night, so he shouldn't be havin' any company."

"Oh, no, no, no," Maribelle said quickly, jumping back. "You must be completely mad, Gibbs. I can't see him again. He probably wouldn't even remember me."

"Might be good if he didn't," Gibbs smirked. "If he didn't then ye could start again...more romantically. The women go mad for ole Jack."

"Once again, NO!" Maribelle insisted. "You can't honestly want me to look him in the face now,"

"Just go see him," Gibbs insisted. "He's probably drunk out of his wits anyhow. If he gets angry, he'll most likely forget about it by tonight,"

"Should I really do it?" Maribelle asked unsurely, pulling her hair free and letting it blow freely in the early morning breeze. Gibbs nodded.

"Ye may regret it if ye don't," Gibbs asked. "Ye owe it to the man to let him know you're all right, if you were as close as you say,"

"You're right," Maribelle nodded, blinking awkwardly. "Take me to him?"

Gibbs nodded, and Maribelle followed him back inside, up the stairs, and down the hall until Gibbs stopped in front of a door to one of the larger rooms. "He's in there." Maribelle nodded and gestured for him to leave.

And now, she stood on the threshold of a new frontier. One that would force her to face her past...


	3. Concealed and Kept

Okay, i don't own any established trademarks of PoTC. mmmkay? 

And sorry for confusing anyone with the timeframe of the story. It actually takes place about two years after CotBP. Yes, that means i tweaked the ages a little bit, but please, i think you can forgive me for that, right?

Isn't Johnny Depp just yummy? Bon appetit!

* * *

"Oh, come on, just knock on the door, your pathetic little twit!" Maribelle muttered to herself. "Once you at least knock, then you can run away from here with the knowledge that you at least tried."

Maribelle had her fist held up, just about an inch away from the door, and her breath was somehow curdling in her chest. She couldn't breath, and it wasn't just because of the corset she was wearing. On the contrary, she had grown accustomed to the corset after having worn one for so long.

In exasperation, she just knocked quickly on the door, then shot her hands back to her side, looking mortified. She inhaled deeply, and intentionally made herself slouch a bit when she saw the door move.

Jack _had _changed. Of course, he was obviously taller, but it didn't end there. He was a _real _pirate, just as he had promised. He had a look about him that could only be caused by years at sea, and countless adventures that Maribelle could only imagine.

"I told Gibbs not to send any _visitors_," he groaned disdainfully. Maribelle furrowed her eyebrows at him as he started to close the door on her. She put her hand in the doorway.

"No one _sent _me," she said matter-of-factly.

"Came up all on your own, then?" Jack groaned sarcastically, walking away from the door. "Haven't seen ye around Tortuga before. New to the business, eh?"

"Depends what business you're talking about," Maribelle said distastefully.

"Ye know what, it doesn't matter," Jack snapped. "Try again _tomorrow, _because today is honestly a _very _bad day for me."

"Obviously." Maribelle retorted. "What's biting _you, _Sparrow? Some girl rub you the wrong way?"

"Ye wouldn't understand," he hissed back. "Sorry, love, but all ye whores are the same. Ye want a piece of the famous Jack Sparrow, then ye are content with walking away a few shillings richer the next morning."

"First, you shouldn't assume that _every _woman on Tortuga is here to cater to every whim of the drunk bastards in the pub," she said, crossing her arms. "Second, why are you acting so _funny_?"

"If ye **must **know," he said resentfully, snapping at the strange woman who had just walked into his room. "I've just been _thinking_."

"It's that difficult for you?" Maribelle said back, shifting her weight and trying to hold back a smile.

"Who the hell are ye anyhow?" Jack snapped in annoyance, reaching for an empty rum bottle on the bed stand. He put it up to his mouth and expected to have a drink, only to find that nothing came out.

"Ah, I knew you wouldn't remember me at all," Maribelle said back, huffing slightly.

But she was wrong. Something about this odd, quite eccentric girl was familiar. Maybe he _had _slept with her at some point. Something was familiar about her crisp accent, and the way her voice would glide over every word she said.

"Oh, forget it," he said, standing up and walking over to her and grabbing her hand. He pulled her into the room and pulled her face roughly to his, kissing her deeply. Maribelle's eyes went wide as she pushed him away.

"What the hell?" she yelled back.

"Are you _crazy_?" Jack snapped at her. "What kind of- -" But he was cut off by the sound of this girl laughing hysterically. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Fourteen years of practice, and that's all you've got?" she said back. "I thought you said you'd be better at kissing than I was."

"Maribelle?" he said in slightly more than a whisper. "What the hell are ye doing here?"

"Funny you should mention that," she said, standing with her hands on her hips. "I don't really know the answer to that one myself."

"Ye don't look the same," he stated, crossing his arms. "At all. Is that a _corset _I see under your dress? You're wearing a corset? The Maribelle I knew would never wear one of those...whore-girdles."

Maribelle's jaw dropped and she looked extremely affronted. "The Jack I knew wouldn't be _looking_. But of course, you're nothing at all like the Jack I know."

"I want ye to get out," he said. Maribelle looked even more shocked. "Get out of here," he snapped.

"What?" Maribelle said back. "Jack, what are you- -"

"Ye know what ye did." He said simply, not looking at her. "You're nothin' but a lying, money-hording- -"

"All _right!_" She snapped back. "You know, I think I've been insulted _enough_." She turned on her heel and stormed back to her own room, feeling angrier than she had in her entire life, but not knowing why.

Jack, on the other hand, picked the empty rum bottle and hurled it across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

Of _course _he couldn't have said that she was what he had been thinking about, what had given him such a severe headache, that she was the only one who could ebb his interest in having women in bed. Of _course _she wouldn't remember that this was the anniversary of the day she had practically left him stranded him at that hellhole of an orphanage, which had been just as harsh as being marooned on that island...Of _course _he couldn't tell her any of that.

Because he was Jack Sparrow...Jack Sparrow didn't actually have any emotional connection to any of his women. They were just there for the occasional romp, and to her him ramble about the glories of his adventures. No one had ever dared to question his far-fetched stories. Not since Maribelle.

Most of all, he was offended that she had become what she had. She had promised to become a pirate and they'd basically terrorize the entire ocean together, and be the scourge of the Seven Seas. She had sworn on pain of death that this would be their future, and she dared become the kind of woman she claimed to hate?

_That _was why she was a liar. She had given up on everything she had been. She was lying to everyone. She was lying to herself. She had taught Jack everything about being free, only to go off and live in a world where society was her prison. It was just wrong.

Even Maribelle realized this, sitting in her room and looking through her sack of things. She had brought very little, except for a set of her father's old clothes, and the old trinkets she had once been so proud to wear in her hair.

The Callums had insisted that she remove them the minute they arrived in Port Royal. The adventure they had promised her really didn't exist. She lived in a world of etiquette and discipline. For young girls, there was no such thing as the north wind, or the fresh sea air. She had forgotten.

Suddenly, there was the sound of crashing downstairs. Maribelle ran to her window and peered out, making sure not to be seen.

She saw a gaggle of soldiers from the Royal Navy flooding into the pub, lead by a voice that she would have given her life never to hear again.

"We are here to make an arrest," said Commodore Norrington, quite regally. "A reward to anyone who gives us Jack Sparrow."

Maribelle yelped loudly, then clapped her hand over her mouth. She heard people running up the stairs, and knew that Jack, in his current state, wouldn't be quick enough to get away. She stood up and ran to the door, only to be met by Norrington.

"Your _parent _have been searching frantically for you," he said, "Obviously, I'm obliged to bring you back to your home as well."

"Over my dead body," Maribelle snapped. "I'm _never _going back there, not even if you- -" she was cut off as Norrington gestured for one of his guards. The last thing she felt was the collision of something hard against the back of her head, and everything went black before she felt herself hit the floor.

* * *

Maribelle came back to her senses, only to find herself in a familiar bedroom, lined with lace and satin. She looked around and groaned. She was back in Port Royal.

"Good to see you're well," said Norrington, who was standing in her doorway. "Mr. And Mrs. Callum, and the governor are still out looking for you. We'll send word to them immediately that you've returned."

"Yes, how _fortunate_," she snapped back, rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head. "I'll be sure to commend you to them for your unnecessary brutality in handling me." Norrington flinched slightly, but the hearty smile never left his face. "Why were you in Tortuga anyhow fancying a tryst with a new girl, eh? I hear _Elizabeth _hasn't shown any interest in speaking to you since she married Will Turner last year."

"If you _must _pry," Norrington said through gritted teeth, "I was there looking for Jack Sparrow, the pirate who made an appearance or two here in Port Royal about two years ago." He turned around to leave, having no desire for this girl to ask him any more impertinent questions. "I caught him though, you'll be relieved to hear," he said as he left.

Maribelle gaped, knowing quite well what happened to pirates in Port Royal.

"What the bloody hell am I going to do now?" she muttered.


	4. Take My Hand

I own Maribelle and..yup. yup, that's all!

* * *

Maribelle felt horrible. She was just sitting in her room when she could be doing something. But would she dare? She didn't want to get herself into even more trouble.

But if no one knew what she was doing?

"What have you got to lose?" Maribelle asked herself..._Only everything_.

_Well, he's my _**best friend**, _isn't he_? She thought. _Of course, it might get me hung, and thrown out of the house, or at the very least, thrown into prison for a few nights for cavorting with pirates. _

"Oh, to hell with it!" she said out loud, swiping her hand through the air. She walked over to the window and looked downward. It wasn't too long of a drop if she couldn't get her footing. But it was still a drop...The prison cells weren't too far away. The run wouldn't be a problem. The problem would be being seen.

"God help me," she cringed, stepping out over the window sill. She put her foot on the ledge, then grabbed onto one of the trees outside for support. Suddenly, she felt her foot slipping, so she jumped out and found herself completely in the tree.

"Great," she muttered. "Bloody brilliant. Now I need to climb down a _tree. _I haven't been in a tree since I was nine years old, and now...Ugh!" She started trying to climb down the trunk in her skirts, and though she was finding it nearly possible, her feet were soon touching solid ground.

Not wasting any time to savor her achievement, she broke into a run, ducking quickly into corners at every few turns if she happened to see someone strolling past. Eventually, she found herself right around the corner from the prison. Very few guards were keeping watch tonight- -Apparently Norrington had gotten a bit cocky, thinking none of _his _prisoners would ever make an escape.

She had heard about Jack's short liaisons in Port Royal two years ago, but she hadn't gone to see him. It was against her nature to walk right into trouble. At least, it was now. She couldn't speak for the girl she was years ago.

For a moment, Maribelle felt just like she was playing pirates with Jack again. Sure, this game put a whole lot more at stake, but if she could still just think of it as a game, maybe nothing would go wrong.

She hadn't worked up the nerve to try and barrel through the guards, so she went around to the back, where a high window would lead to a long drop right into the main cell block. She looked down and put her feet through, letting herself slide downward until she was clinging to the windowsill with her hands. She let her feet then hit the ground quietly before she turned around.

It was a filthy place, really. At least that mangy dog had left, probably died after all the time it had been cooped up down there. When Maribelle was younger, she used to peek into the high window, and the dog would bark loudly at her. She surveyed the area and saw the keys were hanging on a peg in the wall she swiped at them, and started looking through the cells until she found Jack.

"Do you want me to go away _this _time?" she said, holding up the ring of keys and smirking as she jingled them tauntingly in his face. "I've heard you've been in this position before, and it mustn't have been much fun,"

"Are you going to let me _out_?" he growled irritably. "Or are ye just going to wave those keys in my face and run? You seem to do a let of running,"

"I _was _planning on actually opening this door without a fuss, since all the other no-accounts down here are sleeping. If you shut your mouth and don't get me caught, yes," she snapped, starting to try each key in the lock. "You _do _know that you can't possibly try to run out the front, right?"

"Why can't I?" Jack snapped cockily, once Maribelle had finally picked the right key and gotten the lock open. "I've gotten past dozens more guards before." Maribelle rolled her eyes at him.

"You really do love getting caught, don't you?" she snapped, pulling the door open. "It's late. We're going out the way I came in, and I'll get you to the docks."

"Brilliant plan," he snapped sarcastically. He followed Maribelle as she started back towards the window.

"Help me up," she said directly.

"Help _you_?" He snapped, "Hah, that'd be the day."

"Then I can walk straight out the front and leave you here," she snapped, crossing her arms. Jack grimaced at her, but recovered with a wry smile.

"See, here's the thing with that," he said with a smirk, "If ye rat on me now, they'll wonder who opened the door in the first place, and then who'll be in trouble?"

"Still not in as much trouble as you," she pointed out, glancing back towards the front entrance. "I could scream for them to come down right now, and then they'd come running,"

"Enough!" Jack snapped, "All right, all right, all right, let's just get out of here. He stooped down and gave her a foothold until she could pull herself out of the window. Then, she dusted herself off, turned around, and offered her hand through the window. "I don't _need _you to pull me up," he snapped, crossing his arms. Maribelle withdrew her hand and stepped back smirking as she watched Jack jump up and down, trying to get his hands on the ledge. He couldn't jump very high, seeing as they were trying not to make much noise.

"Are you up yet?" she asked in a stage whisper, trying hard not to laugh.

"Shut your mouth and give me yer hand," he snapped back. Maribelle snorted quickly with laughter and leaned over, offering her hand again. She pulled him up as best as she could, considering he was considerably heavier than her. She tried not to pull hard enough to make him hit his head on the top of the window, and helped him duck to get his head out.

Still, even when he could have gotten out the rest of the way on his own, he still held on to Maribelle's hand until he had crawled all the way out. He stood up and dusted himself off with one hand. Maribelle cleared her throat and glanced down at their still-joined hands. Jack pulled his hand away quickly and glanced away. Maribelle rolled her shoulders and blushed slightly.

"Ye aren't too weak for a _lady,_" he shrugged, not looking her in the face. "I guess I ought to be thankin' ye for getting me out."

"Never mind that," Maribelle nodded, looking down at her feet. She cleared her throat quietly. "Come on, we need to get you out of here."

Not really out of necessity, she reached out and grabbed his hand again as they ran to the docks. She still ran considerably fast, and they were there in less time than either of them would have expected.

"I guess you'll be commandeering one of these," she shrugged, looking out over the many ships in the harbor. "You'll be all right getting out of here on your own?"

"On my own?" Jack asked. "You think you won't be coming with me? You sprung me from me cell, and I'd be a horrible pirate if I left you here to take the blow for it,"

"You must be joking," Maribelle laughed. "I'll just get myself into more trouble."

"Never used to stop ye," Jack shrugged, smirking. "Come along. There'll be plenty of rum, rest assured."

"I can't," she said, shaking her head and looking back over her shoulder at the town, whose few streetlamps and lights from houses twinkled ominously in the dark sky. "This is my life now. You need to go back to yours. You have your ship, your crew, and I have...whatever it is that I've got here."

"You don't to be seem to be enjoying it much, whatever it is," Jack pointed out. "No point in living a life you don't want."

"I've _accepted_ that I don't get the life I want," Maribelle snapped forcefully. "Just stop reminding me how much I want it."

"Are you honestly going to walk away from a chance like this?" he said back, "You've _always _wanted to see the entire bloody ocean, and now that you can, you don't want to? Is that it?"

"Don't you ever listen to Gibbs?" Maribelle asked, trying to laugh as though she weren't seriously considering running away on the ship with Jack and never coming back to the Callums, to Port Royal, to her obligations to the governor... "It'd be bad luck to have me around. I'm a _woman_,"

"Ye know you're more than that," Jack snapped, "You can wear those fancy...womanly..._things,_" he said, wrinkling his nose and gesturing wildly and vaguely around her body, "But you'll still be a pirate, and a bloody good one. Ye can't just _forget _it all. What about yer father?"

"What about him?" Maribelle asked weakly.

"You're bloody betraying the man's memory, forgetting about everything he wanted for ye to be," Jack tried to reason with her. "Why would ye want to live in a place like this anyway? Everything's made of metal and stone, and the people...they all have odd hair..."

"My father lived his life exactly the way he wanted, and look what happened to him," Maribelle said quietly, feeling everything she had been thinking for years start welling up behind her eyes. "I don't want to end up like that. Even if it means changing what I want out of life, I'm not going to die like he did."

"So you want to die _miserable _instead?" Jack asked.

Maribelle shook her head furiously, and pulled out from under her skirts a loaded pistol she had taken with her to Tortuga, knowing that she would probably need it at some point. Only, she hadn't expected that she'd be needing it to threaten the man who was once her best friend. She cocked it and pointed it at Jack.

"Get on that ship and just _leave_," she said. Jack just stared resolutely at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Ye aren't going to shoot," he said surely, "The one thing ye never knew how to do was kill. Ye aren't going to hurt me- -"

"Don't you dare challenge me, Sparrow," she hissed. "Don't you _even _dare. I'm warning you- -"

"Warning me of what?" Jack said, almost tauntingly. Maribelle's eyes widened at the prospect of Jack actually thinking that she wasn't serious. She felt an unbridled sense of anger and humiliation bubbling up inside her. True, she _hadn't _planned on firing, but now...

Maribelle cringed and fired a shot that whizzed right over his shoulder, taking off a small section of his shirt. He looked down at where the bullet had grazed, then back at Maribelle in disbelief.

"I'm _warning _you," she hissed. "Next time, I'll aim to kill. Just get out of here before- -"

"HALT!" a voice screamed. Both of them turned to see one soldier running over, his eyes locked on Jack as though Maribelle wasn't there at all. Granted, she had just fired a shot loud enough to call attention from anyone, she found it insulting that no one would credit the shot to her, even though she _was _holding the pistol.

"What have we here?" Maribelle asked, "A lone officer, looking for glory? Don't bother. I've got him," she said, putting on an air of confidence and gesturing towards Jack with the pistol. Her free hand had its fingers crossed behind her back, hoping the soldier would believe this.

"_I _am going to bring him to the Commodore. It'll be good eating for the rest of my life," he said, his eyes glinting in ambition. Jack just stared, not looking worried.

"He's _mine, _and so is the good eating," Maribelle snapped. Suddenly, something within her clicked, and a long-entrenched spirit sparked to life for a moment. "Maybe if ye're nice enough, I'll let ye marry me and we can share the spoils," she said with a smirk. The man glared at her angrily.

In an instant, he was charging at her. Frantically, Maribelle swung the pistol around and fired at him, hitting him square in the chest. He collapsed right in front of her, blood staining his coat.

Maribelle stared in horror at what her own hand had done, her brief moment of nonchalance replaced by her usual attitude of stoicism and logic. She had killed someone, that point was inescapably clear. The soldier lay convulsing horribly on the ground, and Maribelle herself was shaking, tears starting to well up in her eyes. A soft sob escaped her throat as she covered her eyes.

"Shush, luv," Jack said, walking up behind her and putting an arm around her shoulder. She turned around and buried her face in his shirt, trying not to cry. "Come on," he muttered, 'You need to come with me before anyone finds ye here," He stared down at the body. "Ye can't stay here anymore."

Maribelle nodded, then looked back at the town again. "I need to go back to the manor, one more time," she said quietly. "I just need to...take some things with me...Of course, I don't expect you to still be here when I get back."

"You're right, I won't be standing here, waiting for you," Jack nodded. Maribelle looked away, trying to hide to look of hurt on her face, but Jack caught her chin in his hand and made her face him again. "Because I'm coming with ye."

"Jack, the code," she said chidingly, "I might have tried, but I haven't forgotten. Anyone who falls behind gets left behind, remember?"

"Then ye had better run faster than me on the way back," Jack smirked. Maribelle smiled and they both ran off towards the Callum Manor. Now, Maribelle knew she had nothing to lose for the first time since she had come to Port Royal. She ran pell-mell through the streets, and climbed up the tree by her window, not caring how badly she soiled the hem of her dress. Jack, as he always had when they were children, followed just a step behind.

As they climbed into the window, Jack watched as she regathered her things back into the canvas sack. There was one set of clothes, which looked like they belonged to a man, as well as knives, another pistol, a bottle of gunpowder, and a few trinkets.

"Let's go," Maribelle said, striding towards the window and looking down. "Nothing here that's worth missing." She jumped out to the tree and climbed down. Jack glanced around her room once or twice, taking in just what she was leaving behind, then followed right after her.

In a few minutes, they were back at the docks, staring around at the ships.

"Well?" Jack asked, "Which one,"

"You're the captain," Maribelle snapped back, shifting her weight, "You tell me."

"All right," Jack smirked, "Where to?"

"Anywhere," Maribelle sighed dreamily, looking out over the water. "Just so long as it's far from here."

* * *

**a/n's**

Aww, Jack and Maribelle are friends again!...Sort of.

I'm having HORRIBLE writer's block on all of my stories. That's this one (The Cutlass Crow) and my SW fic (Just Over Your Shoulder). I need more ideas. Maybe i need...CHOCOLATE! Chocolate's good...Haha, well, if you have any ideas, the help is waaaaaay appreciated


	5. The Ideal Woman

Maribelle's mine, Jack, Gibbs, & company are NOT. Get it? Got it? Good!

* * *

At some point during the trip, Maribelle had fallen asleep, leaning against the mast with her arms draped over one leg. She woke up only when she felt a gust of cold air hit her face. She shook her head vigorously and looked around. She was absolutely sure that she had seen this place before, and wasn't at all pleased to see it again. She turned her head sharply over her shoulder.

"Well, now," she said snidely, seeing Jack at the wheel. "Imagine that. We just _happened _to find ourselves off the coast of Tortuga."

"Aye, love," he laughed, "Amazing coincidence that the wind should lead us this way,"

"Coincidence," She scoffed, standing up and dusting off her dress. "You'll forgive me, as I don't believe you at all. So, I'll be saying goodbye once we dock,"

"Tortuga's not a big island," Jack shrugged, "Ye can run if ye like, but I'll still find ye."

"I'll just be taking my head start, then," she retorted, slinging her small bag over her shoulder and striding steadily towards the side of the ship. "I'll be seeing you, shall I?" she said mockingly, saluting him, then jumping over the edge.

Jack's jaw dropped and he stared over the water in something like concern until he saw Maribelle swimming steadily towards shore.

"Bloody stubborn wench!" He called out after her.

All that Maribelle was thinking as she swam was that she was going to have a horrible time, walking around sopping wet in Tortuga, but it was all for a new life. She needed to get somewhere, and the minute she got to shore, she ran off to find Gibbs. Seeing as it was still daylight, business wasn't booming quite yet. She found him relatively alone, sitting at a booth in a pub and unmistakably asleep. She chuckled quietly and rolled her eyes, then took the liberty of going upstairs and taking a room to change in.

She changed into a set of her father's old clothes and looked at herself in a dusty mirror on the wall.

"Who's the fairest one of all?" She asked quietly, then smirked. "Definitely not me. It's time to remember who I am." For what seemed like the first time in ages, she let her hair down from the tight, proper twist atop her head. She nodded in approval of how long it was. She reached into the bag, which now contained her wet dress, and pulled the shiny little charms and polished wooden beads, tying them onto the front strands of her hair.

Maribelle Winthrop was a pirate once again. But then again, had she ever stopped? It was in her blood. She picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, and stepped out of the room again, walking with a new swing in her step as she strode down the stairs to meet Gibbs.

"Wake up, ye smarmy pig," she laughed, hitting him across the side of the head. He grumbled as he opened his eyes, then flinched backwards as his eyes focused on Maribelle.

"What the hell are ye doing, dressed like that?" he said, surprised.

"This?" Maribelle asked, crossing her arms. "It's what I'm _supposed _to look like. I told ye who my father was,"

"Mother's love, girl," he muttered, "Ye never seemed the type,"

"Type to what?" Maribelle asked. "I told ye who my father was. He was the _greatest _pirate on the entire ocean. That's quite a lot to live up to,"

"Ye may not be meant for this kind of life," Gibbs said, talking to Maribelle as though she were a child. Maribelle's eyes widened in surprise.

"I taught bloody Jack Sparrow everything he knows about this business, and ye think that I don't know what I'm doing?" she snapped back. "I was going to tell ye to watch my ship for me while I'm still making a name for myself."

"A name for yourself?" Gibbs asked, 'Ye can't do that. Women don't make good pirates."

"Neither do some men," Maribelle snapped back, "Why'd you leave the Black Pearl? I _know _you were on the crew."

"Jack isn't the greatest captain, regardless of what he'll tell ye," Gibbs muttered. "I'd wager that Jack told ye this himself?"

"Aye," Maribelle said vaguely. "What difference is it?"

"He didn't tell ye that I wasn't the only one to leave," Gibbs nodded. It was a statement, not a question. "He's not a sane man. He cares about money, rum, and bedding women. He can't be trusted. He's a good man if he wants to be, I'll give him that. Only, he never wants to."

"So all of ye were cowards and ran off when ye got landed with a tough captain," Maribelle scoffed. "Speaks loads about your character."

"Don't talk to me about honor, girl," Gibbs snapped. "I'm a pirate and a barkeep, I have no use for it. The point is that ye haven't the gall to go out and be a pirate, not after ye've spent yer entire life in a mansion, with everything brought to you and being waited on hand and foot."

"What part of being a pirate am I not capable of?" Maribelle snapped, but she didn't give Gibbs a chance to reply before walking away. She stood behind a seemingly random man at the bar, and stood behind him

"You," she snapped, "Tell what ye know about Barnabas Winthrop, and make it quick."

The man turned around and grinned impishly at the delicate yet wild woman behind him. "Winthrop, eh?" he asked. Maribelle rolled her eyes impatiently. "Just that the man's dead."

Maribelle's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she put her hand on her hip. "He was the greatest pirate on the entire ocean," she stated, looking the man straight in the eye. "Lucky you...maybe you'll have a good view of my father's ass when I put you in the deepest circle of hell," her hand flew from it's place on her waist, pulling out her pistol and shooting the man right in the head. He keeled over, dead before he fell off of his stool.

"Do remember to write," Maribelle said, raising her eyebrows. She looked over at Gibbs, giving him a mocking salute, then walked out of the pub, just as Jack walked in. She didn't even glance at him as she left.

Jack looked at the dead man on the ground, then at the look of pure terror and disbelief on Gibbs' face. "She do that?" Jack asked. Gibbs nodded mutely. "I shoulda known she'd get started quick,"

"We have no idea what the lass has up her sleeve," Gibbs growled, "I've got good reason believin' she hates us both. She could get us both killed now, Jack."

"Personally, I don't give a bloody damn," he said, smiling. "Ye convinced me crew to jump ship, and I've now I've got me ship, and no crew. Couldn't care less about what happened to ye, really. And me, I think Maribelle and I have come to a silent accord. I don't shoot her, she doesn't shoot me."

"She's a _woman_," Gibbs said acidly. "She'll get someone else to shoot ye for her."

"Ye're forgettin' the fact that I'm not bloody stupid," Jack drawled, waving his hand dismissively. "Ye don't know Maribelle. She ain't interested in being a _bad _pirate. She wouldn't sell us...not _me, _at least."

"Ye're a bloody fool," Gibbs said, shaking his head. "Ye're trusting a woman."

"Aye," Jack nodded, looking uncharacteristically thoughtful. "One hell of a woman."

Little did he know that Gibbs wasn't completely wrong. At that moment, Maribelle was standing at the docks, looking intently at a royal French ship coming towards Tortuga.

"We'll see if I don't know how to be a pirate," she smirked.

* * *

Gaah, oso sorry! Short, CRAP chapter. yeesh. let's hope my writer's bloock decides to leave before i give up...

Uh oh...Maribelle seems to be acting a little _odd_. Don't worry,. she's not going evil...I think.

Thanks much to my reviewers. I want to reply to everyone individually, but i guess I can save it for another chappie.

Me!


	6. Bloody Frenchmen

Monsieur Guillaume Pernot is mine (and what a cheeky fellow he is xD) and Maribelle

Don't shoot me for anything that happens in this chapter.

* * *

Maribelle now found herself in a fairly unexpected, and semi-compromising position. She was aboard a French galleon, meeting with the captain, Guillaume Pernot. Pernot was a staunch advocate of pirate execution, and now, as he sat across the table from Maribelle, he believed that he had found a very useful ally.

"So, you think you can give us Jack Sparrow," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Depends on two things," Maribelle said, crossing her legs and sitting up straight. It was a wonder that she still remembered everything she had been taught in those etiquette lessons. "First, what you plan to give me in exchange for the information, and second, what you plan on doing if I do, in fact, tell you where you could find him."

"I'd give you a reasonably large amount, of course," Pernot said, looking at Maribelle appraisingly. "And...What does it matter what I do with him? Pirates are pirates, aren't they?"

"Yes, and class is class," Maribelle said strongly, not allowing herself to let anything slip. "Should you do anything to impune your own honor, then the blame would automatically be directed towards the informant, namely me."

"All right," Pernot nodded, "I won't lay hand or pistol on the man,"

Maribelle stared at him for a moment. "I believe we ought to put your word to the test before I seek you out the real prize. I'll find you another man...someone who was on Sparrow's crew. If the results of your little rendezvous are favorable, then I'll seek you out. But, if I don't like what I hear- -word does travel fast around the island, after all- -then the deal's off before anyone loses anything."

"All right," Pernot said with a smirk. "We have a deal. I'll expect the _pirate _tonight, on this ship, right at sundown."

"Yes, sir," Maribelle nodded, bowing her head slightly. She walked towards the door and stepped out, a new expression on her face- -one of determination, ambition...and one of pain.

"This is being a pirate," she said to herself. "Hang loyalty. It's my life."

And with that, she set off to find Gibbs, and make her trade.

He wasn't a hard man to find. Nowadays, he was always in one pub or another. Maribelle went through two or three before actually finding him.

"Gibbs," she barked loudly, not giving away a hint of what she had planned for the man. "What say ye to helping a fellow pirate?"

"I say no," Gibbs growled. "Ye just killed a man, lass. What can you do to prove ye won't just drag me out into an alley and shoot me for bein' a witness?"

"I swear on pain of death that I won't ever put a pistol to you," she said honestly. After all, Pernot was planning to question Gibbs, knock him around a bit, then send him home crying. Maribelle was proving herself as a pirate, and keeping her honor intact at the same time. This was quite surely the winning move.

"Still doesn't change that ye killed a man," Gibbs said suspiciously.

"Proves that I'm not so fragile as you think," Maribelle said. "Now, Gibbs, come with me, please!" She looked out the window. "Besides, It's nothing dangerous! Well, not really,"

Gibbs somehow couldn't refuse the woman. She _had _made a point that she was cut out to be a pirate, honor and all, meaning that she was bound to her word.

"What'll ye have me do?" he asked resignedly.

"Nothing at all!" Maribelle said simperingly, "I just need for you to run onboard a certain ship for me and check if they've...hidden anything."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Lass, ye don't go barging onto another man's ship for no reason. They consider it an invasion."

"Oh, but..." Maribelle paused. Gibbs was harder to crack than she would have guessed. "It looks exactly the same as the ship...the one that attacked my father's...it's..." It was really no problem for Maribelle to fake tears. Gibbs looked at her, half in disgust and half in pity.

"All right, I'll go," he said, standing up grudgingly. "Honestly, ye can never hope to be a pirate if you break into tears at the sight of a _ship_."

"Oh, I know," Maribelle said, wiping at her eyes exaggeratedly. Then, she led him out of the pub.

"Which ship is it, lass?" Gibbs asked impatiently. "Ye'd best point it out. It's almost dark."

"Yes, that it is," she nodded. She looked out towards the docks, and saw the ship with the French colors. Pernot's ship was easily the biggest in the harbor, but also one of the oldest looking- -it would easily pass for a pirate ship. "That one," she said quietly. "I don't know if anyone's there, but I'd doubt they were. I saw nearly the whole crew file out, and they're most likely drunk on the floor of some hostel."

"Ye owe me for this, lass," Gibbs grunted. Then, he started walking over to the ship, not once looking back to see that Maribelle had scurried off and hidden herself in an alleyway to watch.

She didn't know what type of interrogation Pernot was going to hold, so she peered around a corner intently, staying in the shadows so as not to be seen.

She was certainly not expecting it when two men with muskets burst out of the cabin and grabbed Gibbs, knocking him to the ground. Maribelle clapped a hand over her mouth. Suddenly, Pernot himself stepped out, holding a cocked pistol. Maribelle strained her ears to her what he was saying.

"No pirate ever crosses me who doesn't get what he deserves," Pernot said calmly. "You'll be the first, but certainly not the last." He pointed the pistol straight at Gibbs, and Maribelle turned away before she heard the shot. She started running down the alley, being as quiet as she could, and back to the room where she had dropped some of her things, not caring who she knocked over along the way. She closed the door behind her and threw herself on the bed.

"Bloody hell, what have I done?" she said in anguish. "I.. I don't mean for this to happen. I was trying to be a good pirate." She looked upwards at the ceiling. "Father, I...I just wanted to be what you wanted me to. What am I doing wrong? I thought- -"

Suddenly, the door opened, and Jack strode into the room. Jack Sparrow, the man that Maribelle was meant to hand over to Pernot, no doubt to suffer the same piteous fate as Gibbs.

"Ye seem to be doin' an awful lot of cryin', luv," he said.

"Get out of here," Maribelle said hastily. "I can NEVER see you again, do you understand?"

"Ah, so now ole Jack's done somethin' horrible, eh?" he laughed. "What's got your feathers all ruffled now?"

"It's nothing!" Maribelle said desperately. 'I've just...I've just done something unbelievably wrong, and you'd better get away before you find what it is,"

"I saw it," Jack said simply. Maribelle's jaw dropped. "Yeah, I saw what happened on that French ship."

"Then you know that I just as well could have the same done to you," Maribelle snapped, "You know you can't trust me."

"First off, you _couldn't _pull one on me, because _I _am the better pirate now," he smirked, "Second, if you _were _planning on doing the same to, then I'd be able to tell."

"I don't CARE, all right?" Maribelle snapped. "It doesn't matter! You need to get the hell away before- -" Maribelle froze as she heard footsteps clunking up the stairs which no doubt came from heavy boots.

Pernot, she realized, never had any intention of giving her an option. They were coming for her, and they were going to force her to give up Jack...

"Hide," Maribelle hissed simply, shoving Jack towards a closet. He looked at her in indignation for a moment- -He, _Jack Sparrow_, was being told to hide in a closet- -but did as she said. He closed the closet door just in time to hear someone walk into the room.

"Mademoiselle Winthrop," Pernot said icily. "I believe that we had a deal."

"I told you if I liked the outcome, I'd keep going with you plan," Maribelle said resolutely. "Truth is, I didn't like the outcome at all."

"Pity," Pernot said. "You see, I'm changing the grounds of our agreement a bit. I'm giving you three options."

"None of which, I assume, are very desirable." Maribelle muttered.

"Number one, you can tell us where Sparrow is, we'll take care of him, and you may go on your merry way," he said. "And second...We shoot you for not giving us the information, and find a new informant. There are plenty of rats on this island."

"You said there were three." Maribelle said, trying not to shake as she spoke. She wouldn't look frail in front of these people. It was a matter of life and death.

"Right you are," Pernot said in a softer tone. "And I'm _so _glad you asked. By the way, why did you? Not willing to die for one of your fellow pirates, eh?"

Maribelle gasped slightly. "How did you- -"

"Maribelle Winthrop," Pernot laughed, "Daughter of Barnabus Winthrop- -I wanted to kill that man so badly, it was almost a shame that another scallywag got to him first. But no matter, now that you're standing in front of me. You see, your third option...is to come back to France and marry me." He said the last part very bluntly, but it confused Maribelle to no end.

"If you know that I'm a pirate, and you hate _my kind _so much, why do you want to bring me all the way back to France?" she asked.

"Because, you're a very beautiful girl," Pernot said simply, "And a very rich one."

"The _Callums _are rich," Maribelle corrected. "None of it is mine."

"Ah, you see, a little _misfiring _on a ship in near Port Royal took care of that." Pernot said, gesturing airily with his hand. Maribelle felt herself tense up at what he was implying. "Unfortunately, the governor and Mr. and Mrs. Callum weren't lucky enough to survive. So now, you've lost the man that you were promised to, and the two people keeping the fortune back from you."

"And?" Maribelle said. "Are you planning to marry me, then kill me afterwards so you can have it all?"

"Oh, no," Pernot said with a sly grin. "I plan to keep you in France."

Maribelle averted her gaze. She was now standing at the choice of a lifetime.

She could give up Jack, let him die and walk away with the life she had always wanted- -the life her father had wanted for her.

She could choose to be noble and tell Pernot to drop dead...which would ultimately just get her a bullet in the head.

Then there was her final option. She would get Pernot away from Tortuga and keep him distracted at least long enough for Jack to make an exit. She'd stay alive. It was the only choice.

"I do believe I have some packing to do," she said hopelessly. "France is quite a long way away."

"Ah," Pernot said, his mouth curving into a grin. "Perfect. I'll be on my ship." He stepped out the door, but then turned around. "On second thought, you ought to come with me. You don't need any of this," he gestured around the room. "You'll be much better provided for in France. I daresay we'll be wed the day we arrive."

Maribelle nodded silently then walked out of the room, knowing full well that she would never see Tortuga, or Jack, ever again.

As soon as he was sure that everyone had left, Jack stepped out of the closet, then ran off towards the docks.

"Stupid girl," he muttered as he jumped aboard a small boat. "What the bloody hell did she do that for?"

As great as he thought himself to be, Jack knew he stood no chance against the whole French navy, which would be after his head. And there was only one place where he could get any help.

Port Royal.

* * *

A/N's

Well, Maribelle caused something pretty terrible, but she _tried _to make up for it with something noble. First, betrothed to the governor, now to a smarmy French pirate hater? Gosh, this lass has got a thing for getting herself engaged to the oddest people.

**Obsetress: **You hit the nail right on the head with your last review. Yes, Maribelle's just frustrated, because her life's gone totally off track. Well, now it's even worse. I'm still trying to decide how exactly she's going to deal with some things i have planned for her.

**Jack'sSparrow: **Well, Jack and Maribelel just may be friends now, and no longer enemies. Too bad she got shipped to France. I'm trying to think up the exact details of what happens next, but expect some drama, some action, and some...yummy pirate-y goodness.

**Dawnie-7**: Hey! I just noticed! You've been reviewing my SW fic too! haha, I'm kinda slow like that! FORGIVE ME! :) ... Well, yeah, Maribelle's cutting right to the chase here...and it's not turning out pretty, is it? Just hope my twisted little mind doesn't come up with something horrible to put her through in the next chapters.

**blackcharityflint: **Haha, have I made you speechless? Is that a bad thing?

_I like to imagine i have Jack Sparrow trapped in my closet. He's my most prized...erm...possession. Well, I'll give him away...or...rent him out...to the person who can make the best gess as to what happens in the next chapter! Haha. Don't worry, it's all written, so I don't just pick who wins. I kinda dropped hints throughout the chapter. Happy hunting!_


	7. Misunderstood

Has it been sorta long since my last upate? Sorry!

I only own Maribelle and Pernot...but you can take Pernot if you want, because he's getting on my nerves.

Well, read the chapter, and, if you can stand it, check the A/N's at the bottom!

* * *

Governor Swann's funeral had ended nearly an hour earlier, but Will and Elizabeth Turner lingered by the grave long after it had been filled.

Elizabeth had been hurt more than anyone by these happenings. She had lost her father, and now, of the entire world, only had her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Callum had been like second parents to her, and now they were gone as well. And Maribelle...they had been friends since they both arrived in Port Royal, and now she had disappeared. She hadn't heard much of this story, but she from hearsay, she knew she had been kidnapped.

Will had tried to be supportive of her, but truthfully could never understand. He had known Maribelle as well, but never her parents. Maribelle had made him aware of pirates. She had such melancholy in her voice when she spoke of them, Will felt for sure that she hated pirates. That had contributed to fact that he had once hated pirates. She had never told him of her past.

It was raining, and the clouds looked as though they never planned on leaving. Elizabeth couldn't tear herself away from the tombstone with her father's name. There was no form of vengeance that could reimburse her for this loss.

A rather rotund minister came striding over towards them, hobbling slowly through the mud and grass. "My children," he said. "You have both suffered a great loss." His voice was thick with an accent, and made the grieving couple look up. "Perhaps I know how to...alleviate this loss. But you must come with me."

Will and Elizabeth looked at one another, nodded, and followed to fat old man into one of the cleric's offices. Suddenly, as the man locked the door, his face and body peeled off like a second skin...a mere disguise.

"Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth muttered. "What do you think you're doing, coming back here? They'll hang you if they find you."

"I was here days ago," he said, shaking his head vigorously to rid his hair of the spare moisture. "'Twas Maribelle that sprung me from prison."

"What?" Elizabeth snapped, "How do you know Maribelle? You kidnapped her- -"

"No time to explain," Jack said hastily. "Are ye going to help me save her or not?"

"Save her?" Will said. "Jack, where is she?"

"Well," he replied, wrinkling his nose, "I'd wager she's only halfway to France. We've got to hurry and stop her before the wedding- -"

"Wedding?" Elizabeth asked. "Then you're saying she's alive?"

"One can only hope," Jack snapped, "I'll tell ye everything when I deem ye both worthy, but are ye going to help me or not?"

Once again, the couple shared a studying glance, then nodded at Jack. Nothing was left to lose in Port Royal. They helped Jack pull back into the cleric's disguise and they ran out to the boat Jack had acquired in Tortuga.

The seas were wild on this day, as the wind and rain tossed their boat hopelessly. Elizabeth found herself bailing the water out at regular intervals.

They sailed on through this storm, until the skies cleared, and the wind carried them in the right direction. Jack stood at the helm as long as they were sailing, and said nothing, which was, quite frankly, a change for him.

On the third day of their journey, when all three on board were quite sure that with their speed, they were drawing near their destination, Will walked up to Jack.

"How do you know Maribelle?" he asked bluntly.

Jack looked slightly disturbed by the question, and cleared his throat. "I don't." he denied.

"Oh, really?" Will said. "Then why are you casting the Pirates' code aside just to save her?"

"I'm not," he said, looking highly affronted.

"She fell behind," Will said matter-of-factly.

"She didn't _fall behind_!" Jack snapped back defensively. "They bloody kidnapped her, and I'm damned if I don't get to her first."

"All this for a girl that your don't know," Will said shrewdly. "Then you've had quite a change of heart since last we met. What's in it for you, I wonder,"

"I suppose ye'd need to find that for yourself," Jack said, looking off into the distance. Disappointed, Will walked over back to Elizabeth.

"Did he say anything?" she muttered. Her husband shook his head.

"He told me to think it up for myself," Will said. He went into retelling everything Jack had said.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Elizabeth said. "He doesn't deny it when you say he's had a change of heart, he risks his life to get us, and we're sailing across the ocean to save Maribelle. Don't _tell _me you don't see what's going on!"

"What?" Will said, not following the woman's logic.

"Maribelle _must _be his wife, that'd the only way," Elizabeth whispered conspiratorially.

"Stupid girl," Jack muttered from where he stood, having heard everything. "Let the lass think what she wants, then?"

It didn't matter to Jack what Elizabeth thought was happening. All that mattered was that he saw a French flagship in the distance.

They went on following the same ship unnoticed in the fog until they reached the coast.

"We abandon ship here," Jack said, clearing his throat. Elizabeth whirled around and glared at him.

"Abandon ship?" she retorted. "You can't mean that we're going to swim to shore- -"

"Do you want to save your friend or not?" Jack said with a convincing growl.

"Of course I do," Elizabeth said staunchly. "Do you?"

"It's of little consequence to me," Jack lied. Will and Elizabeth shared a glance and shrugged. "You two can stay here if you like, but good luck trying to get back home without me," he smirked. Then, he turned and dove into the water.

Will ran and jumped in awkwardly as well, not achieving a very clean landing into the water, and Elizabeth landed on the sea's surface with an odd sloshing sound. Will helped her keep going through the water as they worked their way to shore just behind Jack.

Gasping for breath, Elizabeth and Will finally got to shore, where Jack stood under the dock, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Not in any rush, are we?" he said irritably. "If either of you are familiar with the territory roundabout, speak up." Neither of the two said anything. "No? Then we've got a bit of running to do."

They tore through the town's streets, sloshing sand, mud, and water as they went. Elizabeth was weighed down terribly by her dress, but Will dragged her a tad too fast in attempt to keep up with Jack.

They found themselves hiding in an alley by a small church, with a procession spilling inward. Standing still, visible in the back of the vestibule, was Maribelle, dressed in a wedding gown.

"Son of a bitch, Pernot," Jack muttered. "Ye don't waste any time."

Luckily, neither did Jack.

* * *

A/N's

**Dawnie-7: **Well, I _guess _that I can let Sparrow out of my closet. Have some _fun _with him! You guessed this chapter so well! Haha. You know that I wouldn't make it all happen at once though. You get to see what happens with the wedding later.

**Empathy Is Me: **Are all these cliffies starting to get annoying? Sorry if they are, haha. Maybe I _will _work Maribelle shooting Pernot in somewhere, but not quite yet.

**Obsetress: **That past chappie bashed the French quite a bit...but I love the French, honestly! Just not _some _of them. Unfortunately, there's quite a few evil frenchmen in this story...Hehe.

**LoLoMo: **Now Jack's the one off rescuing a damsel. Quite a switcheroo. Love it? Hate it?

**DugaDugabowbow**: Thanks for reviewing!


	8. Used To?

Eh...See the other chapters for the disclaimers!

* * *

"I suppose this is the only way," Maribelle said quietly to herself as she stood at the very back of the church. Pernot had apparently sent a messenger ahead of him to tell he had brought a bride back to France with him. A large crowd gathered, and as they walked in to take their seats, they tried to catch a glimpse of Maribelle through her veil. Pernot had given her a dress, and though it was loose in some places, he had told her she looked perfect in it.

The Frenchman was giving a long oration in French, of which Maribelle only understood a few words. It bought time before the ceremony, and would most likely last for quite a while.

She didn't feel like she was leaving anything behind. After all, she didn't feel as though she'd be missed by anyone. In Port Royal, so much was likely to be going on, so no one would devote a minute of their time to worrying about her. And Jack...

Oh, she had given up all hope on him. She had abandoned that false ambition she had always held, that they'd be pirates together. She knew that she'd never be a pirate. All she'd ever amount to was a disappointment.

"If my father could only see me now," she muttered, "I've failed him."

She owed everyone this much. She'd have caused trouble for all the people she still had the heart to care about if she hadn't gone with Pernot. She could make sure Pernot never went after Jack, and that would be the end of it. Maybe this redeemed her for having broken her promise to him.

She didn't want to think of what would have to happen later. She didn't want to think of herself as a martyr, or as a selfless person, because she was neither of those things.

She jolted quickly when she swore that she heard someone calling her name. She didn't turn her head to look for anyone.

_A bit arrogant of you, don't you think? _She thought, _As if anyone cares enough to come here just to save you._

But she heard it once again, and couldn't help but look around. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a shadowed portion of a nearby alley, where three familiar faces peered out momentarily. Each of them surprised her in its presence.

Elizabeth had never been one to run off on foolhardy quests, and Maribelle hardly expected it now, when Elizabeth had just lost her father.

Will hardly ever left his shop, and yet there he was as well. Maribelle hadn't even thought he remembered her.

And Jack...

"Get away," she mouthed silently. She couldn't stand for them being seen. She was nearly outraged when Jack raised an eyebrow, smirked, and shook his head.

"It just figures," she muttered to herself, "He could just as well get shot right now, and he's mocking me,"

Jack gestured for her to come over to where they stood, and she had half to mind to just walk away from the church when the bridal march began. She looked mournfully at them, as though she was saying goodbye, and began to walk slowly forward.

"Get in there and pretend ye're part of the procession," Jack snapped hurried to Will.

"Me?" he snapped, "But I'm soaking wet."

"It's a wedding," Jack growled, "People crying at these bloddy things, don't they Ye have and excuse, now go!" He shoved him forward, and Will ran over, taking Maribelle's arm.

"Will, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she muttered through the side of her mouth.

"Honestly?" he said, "I have no idea. Jack just made me."

"Oh, _wonderful_," Maribelle muttered, "It's fine, Will. Tell Jack that he doesn't have to do this."

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded at the front of the church. They looked ahead to see that a pillar had fallen, blocking the way of the procession. Then, Jack bolted out from behind the base, waving his arms wildly and telling them to leave.

Completely oblivious, Will, Jack, Elizabeth, and Maribelle started running madly back through the town.

"Well, where to now?" Maribelle panted as they ran. Jack looked back over his shoulder at her.

"You're the one who's forgotten _everything _about being a pirate," he said, "It's time to train you up again."

"I did _not _forget," She snapped, stopping quickly as they arrived at the docks. Jack merely reached over and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her with him in the water. "It's bloody freezing!" she shrieked as Will and Elizabeth jumped in as well.

"Better than burning in that yon church," Jack said, spitting a fountain of water from his mouth. "Now, shut yer trap and swim." He started swimming wide strokes back in the direction of the boat they had taken to France. Maribelle inhaled deeply and started chopping quickly through the water.

"Come on!" she yelled at Will and Elizabeth, "Jack's going to leave us if we don't keep up."

Somehow, the boat they had taken hadn't moved. Jack pulled his three companions up over the side, and Maribelle shook herself roughly.

"Another wedding I've wriggled my way out of," she muttered. Then, she looked over at Jack. "Why'd you come after me, anyhow?"

"I don't like being in debt," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, sucks to that," Maribelle said, rolling her eyes. "You don't owe me anything. So what reason does that leave?"

"We _did _used to be friends, if ye didn't remember," Jack said.

"Used to," Maribelle repeated warily. "And now, we're merely...non-enemies...am I right?"

"We don't have the time to bloody interrogate one another," Jack said, crossing his arms. "We need to start moving. Unless ye want to get caught and dragged back to the chapel," he added with a smirk. Maribelle pouted, but walked off to man the sails. Jack smirked even more clearly in triumph.

Maribelle caught sight of the haughty expression on his face, took off her soaking wet slipper, and hurled it him, hitting him on the side of the head.

"We need ye on board to get this piece of junk movin', so I'll forget ye did that," he sneered. Now, it was Maribelle's turn to smirk.

"Told you," Elizabeth muttered to Will. "They adore one another."

Will furrowed his eyebrows, thinking, _The most obviously do **not**._

* * *

A/Ns

**LoLoMo: **Yes, Jack's a bit on edge right now, but that's just because...Maribelle stresses him out a bit, xD

**DugaDugabowbow: **Eeek. I took a while to update this time. Don't hurt me! Haha

**EmpathyIsMe: **Yes, Jack's getting good at playing the hero. But he's still our good ole Captain Jack at heart

**jack's-freedom: **Haha, somebody picked up on the little reference of the movie! Haha! Yup, impersonating clergy of the church seemed like a funny little thing to bring into this story.

**Dawnie-7: **Testy doesn't even begin to cover it, haha. Now that he has to deal with Maribelle day in and day out on a tiny ship, it only gets worse.

**blackcharityflint: **tisk tisk, going and commandeering other people's pirates! Uh oh!

I know my chapters are short, but that's because I have so little time to write lately! eek! Dumb school.


	9. Alleviating Certain Tensions

Gaah! My muse is slowly drifting away. I need ideas, people. The updates on this story are gonna be fewer and farther between untilI can get some ideas. But not to worry, I'm not abandoning the story!

Anyhoo, the whole disclaimer spiel...Yeah, I think you all know that allI own is Maribelle, so restating it too many times is just redundant, huh?

And sorry, I'm feeling a lil bit off, so I can't really respond to all my reviewers individually this time...sorry!

On with the show!

* * *

Out free on the ocean once again, Maribelle felt a rush of familiar feelings that were all but forgotten. She'd been so fond of how if you breathed deeply enough, you could taste the air, and how you could look out over the ocean and see nothing but water and the horizon.

She was sitting out at night at the bow of the ship, looking out over the dark velvety sky. She was imagining that her father was sitting in front of her, talking, just as they always had when she was younger. A scene played out in her head, and Maribelle had no doubt that, had her father been alive, it would go just so...

"I don't belong here anymore, do I?" Maribelle said miserably. "I tried to think I remembered everything you taught me...but I don't,"

_"But you can," her father said. "You can."_

_"Oh, papa," she said quietly, "I used to be ready to be a real pirate, and look at me now. I'm cold and wet on a ship in a wedding dress. That's not quite the most intimidating image,"_

_"It isn't about looking intimidating, remember?" he asked. "I've told you every day, if people look at you, and they're fooled, then you've brought yourself that much closer to winning."_

_"Winning what?" she said. "Papa, I don't have anything to fight for anymore. I'm just another girl. I'm stuck like this now, and there's no changing anything."_

_"Only if that's what you want," he replied stoically. "If you want to sit around and be whatever the world tells you, I can't stop that. But that's **not **what you want. You want the world to know your name."_

_"Is that what I want?" she asked quietly. "I can barely even remember now."_

_"Tell me what you think you want for your life," her father said. "Tell me what you're looking for."_

_"I'm looking for..." she began. There was a long pause. She hadn't thought about what she wanted her life to be, not for a long time. If anyone else had asked he, she'd have answered that she wanted fame, fortune, and a good husband, because that's what anyone wanted to hear. But this was her father, and he would see through that lie in a moment. "I want to be a pirate." She said resolutely. "I want to be the kind of pirate who's the subject of a million stories. I want to live on, even after the day I die."_

_"Then you haven't forgotten anything," her father chuckled. "You're the same girl, somewhere beneath that mask. You just have to start living again, savvy?"_

_"Savvy," she laughed._

_They both stood up and looked at one another. She stood almost eye-to-eye to her father._

_"You've done well," he said kissing her on the forehead. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Then, he disappeared._

Maribelle shook herself out of this fantasy. It was far too impossible for her father to be there, and yet there he had been. Perhaps she hadn't lost anything after all.

"What do ye think you're doing out here?" Jack said, striding up to the spot where she was sitting. "A bit chilly, isn't it, _milady_? Thought ye'd be in your cabin, sleepin',"

"I'm just thinking," she said pointedly, not even looking at him. "I suppose you find something wrong with that?" she added.

"Ye just think _too _much," Jack laughed. Maribelle turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, finding his amusement rather untimely.

"Maybe not too much," she said, sounding a bit ruffled. "Maybe I've just been thinking of all the wrong things."

"No difference," Jack shrugged. They just hung around silently for a few moments. "So, you really aren't, then?"

"Aren't what?" Maribelle asked, once again looking confused.

"Grateful," he shrugged. "I _did _just save ye from that bloody French swine, after all. I expected a little bit of thanks for it,"

"Ho!" Maribelle laughed, "You saved my life, did you? Pernot was quite rich, as I'm sure you're aware. If I had married him, I'd be living _quite _a life. I might well have found that _bloody French swine _attractive, you know."

"Ye didn't," Jack laughed. "He was a fat prick old enough to be your father, and...well, being married to him, you'd have been obligated to consummate said marriage. Doing so would obviously require ye to- -"

"ENOUGH!" Maribelle interrupted, trying not to laugh. "All right, point taken. I'm grateful, and definitely relieved I didn't have to marry Pernot. Are you happy now?"

"Not quite," Jack said. "Why aren't ye scared of me?"

"First off, it's hard to be scared of someone you can remember as being a short little boy who was scared of heights," Maribelle said in amusement. "Second...well, there is no second. Anyhow, who _would _I be scared of you?"

"I'm the bloody _best _pirate in the entire world," Jack said cockily. "I think that's a good enough reason.   
"Well, you're not the best pirate to ever have existed," Maribelle said, standing up and leaning against the mast.

"Oh, right," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "That's your father, isn't it?"

"No," Maribelle said with a smirk. "Me, when I was seven years old. I suppose my father could tie for first, though."

"And I can't?" Jack said, crossing his arms. "What's so good about you, eh, _milady_?"

"What's so good?" she scoffed. "_What's so good?_ Oh, I don't know. I just can't help it that _greatness _runs in my blood, now, can I?"

"Cocky much?" Jack asked sarcastically. Maribelle just laughed at him.

"So what happens next?" she said quietly, once her giggles had subsided, suddenly taking a serious tone. "Are we just going to be running away from something for the rest of our lives?"

"Pirates don't away from things. Ye should know that," Jack said, "They run _towards _things."

"Like what?" Maribelle scoffed.

"The horizon," Jack shrugged. "Who know what a bugger could find once he catches it?"

"You _never _will," she said critically. Jack cocked his towards her and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Ye seem a bit too sure of that," he said. "Almost like ye want to challenge to _legendary _Jack Sparrow. Do you mean to tell me that there's something I _can't _do?"

"Yes, in fact, I do," she said, now smiling herself. "If you can manage to someday hand me a piece of the horizon, I'll give you anything you want, no joke."

"I'll hold ye to that one day," he said. "Ye need to learn to start keepin' your promises, _milady_."

"Why on earth do you keep calling me _milady_?" Maribelle snapped in annoyance.

"That's what ye are," Jack shrugged. "You're a lady, _Miss Winthrop_. Ye aren't any more a pirate than I am a gentleman...and I'm sure you understand what I mean," he smirked with a wink.

"You're wrong," she said, bobbing her head in his direction. "I'm still good enough a pirate. You'll see."

"I'll see, will I? If you say so, I'm sure I will." Jack affirmed, laughing in a rather patronizing manner that only aggravated Maribelle even more. "Yes, luv, once the wind stops blowin', I'll see if ye know a thing about livin' on a ship. Ye won't make it a day without my help,"

"I won't make it a _day_?" Maribelle snapped, affronted. "You're absolutely infuriating! Has _ANYONE _ever gotten that point across?"

"Once or twice," Jack said proudly. "I'm makin' ye angry."

"Damn right you are, you bloody scallywag!" Maribelle said, flinging her arms out. Jack just broke out laughing, nearly hysterically.

"Watch that mouth, _milady,_" he cackled. "Might have to punish you for that language,"

"Oh, _right_," she said sardonically. "Wouldn't want to force _my _filth onto your _innocent _ears, now would I?"

"Well," Jack said with an appraising grin. "Now _that's _more like the Maribelle I know."

"Bloody hell," she muttered, "What'll ye have me do next? I don't suppose you have any rum with you? I might as well get absolutely inebriated if I'm going to be stuck with you."

"All for me, none for you," he laughed, gesturing exaggeratedly at a flask he had tucked into his belt. "Ye'll enjoy the right far more if ye stay sober, _milady_."

"If you call me that again, I swear on pain of death, I'll wring your neck!" she said in annoyance.

"Oh really?" Jack said, smirking wanly and raising an eyebrow. "Then I'd do well to obey your _orders, _wouldn't I, milady?"

Mirabelle jumped at him, knocking him down and placing her hands playfully on his neck.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Jack said, looking at Maribelle in genuine surprise. She had definitely caught him off guard.

"Well, you're the one who said I ought to start keeping my promises," she said, not removing her hands, just looking confidently into his eyes, rather defiantly.

Suddenly, Jack grabbed her wrists, and their positions were reversed, and Jack was now on top of Maribelle, pinning down her hands at her sides.

"Yer reflexes need work," he laughed.

What happened next really had now reason. All either of them knew was that, at some point, Jacks hands released Maribelle's wrists, and were now on either side of her shoulders. He brought his head down slowly, his lips meeting hers in a solemn, chaste kiss, quite uncharacteristic of the pirate's rugged way with most women.

"What was that?" Maribelle asked, turning her head to the side and breaking away. "Jack- -"

"Kiss me again," he said staunchly. "Captain's orders."

"You're horrible," she snapped, somehow slipping away from beneath him. She stood up and dusted herself off. "Honestly, is this all you ever think about?"

"What exactly are you referring to?" Jack said shrewdly. "Of course, I think of _other _women, but there aren't any available on this ship at the moment, so, since I'm captain, I get to alleviate certain _tensions _by wooing you, savvy?"

"No, not _savvy_," Maribelle snapped. "You don't ever, _ever _do that again, or I'll...do something!"

"Something?" he said tauntingly. "Perhaps ye'll just kiss me back, then."

Maribelle rolled her eyes and stormed back into her cabin, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Meanwhile, Will and Elizabeth were inside their cabin muttering to one another, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation.

"Well, I know one thing for sure," Will said rather smugly. "They're not married."

"All right," Elizabeth admitted, "But they bicker as though they are."


	10. Gone With the Wind

Dude, it's been so long since I've updated. I'm sorry! ::apologizes profusely:: On with the show!

* * *

Maribelle hadn't had a real night's sleep in the two days since she had been on the ship. Funny, everything she had wanted for so long was driving her absolutely insane.

"I would've expected freedom to be more enjoyable than this," she groaned, lying in bed and making a futile effort at sleeping. "Honestly, the world doesn't know when to shut up."

And it was true. Gulls were cawing, wood was creaking, waves were crashing- -

"Hold on," she muttered. "Waves?" There was no wind. The ship wasn't even moving. In surprise, she sprang out of bed, stumbled out of her cabin, and out into the cold air.

It was incredibly dark, and she had to squint towards where the horizon would be in order to see it, but, with some effort, she could tell that something was there.

"Bloody hell," she muttered. She squinted even harder at the ship in the impending distance, and saw a large flag flying on it. "French," she spat in disgust. "Would've seen _that _one." She ran quickly to Will and Elizabeth's cabin and knocked on the door. A very peaky looking Elizabeth opened the door.

"I don't think the sea agrees with me," she said sickly. Maribelle groaned.

"Horrible timing," she muttered. She went to the next door down, and practically knocked down the door to Jack's cabin. "Get your bloody ass out of bed and act _captainly, _would you?" she snapped

Jack rubbed his eyes and stumbled rather drunkenly out of bed. "Couldn't sleep, love?" he growled patronizingly. Maribelle rolled her eyes.

"There's a French ship heading our way," she snapped.

"Oh, that's all?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow as Maribelle practically dragged him out of his cabin. "The wind'll carry us. Ye worry too much."

"Wind!" Maribelle said, yelling hysterically at no one in particular. "God Almighty, you hear that? He's talking! And about what? _Wind! _Bloody hell, Jack! _What _wind? WE'RE NOT MOVING!"

Jack pursed his lips and looked upwards pensively. Then, he licked his finger and held it up to the air.

"Bloody hell, you're right!" ha said rather cheerily. Maribelle looked at him as though he was completely insane, which he damn well may have been.

"I'm right," she smirked bitterly. "Well, that's good to know that for once, you admitted it. It's a lovely _parting gift!_"

"Parting gift?" Jack said. "Not planning on jumping ship, are ye, love?"

"Might as well!" Maribelle snapped, looking quickly at the side of the ship in near panic. "Once those bloody pigs catch up with us, I'll just be dragged kicking and screaming back to France anyway! Might as well just have a bit of fun with the sharks instead!"

"What make ye think they're going to catch up?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, CHRIST!" Maribelle growled in exasperation. "They're rowing faster than wind, there _is _no wind to begin with, and WE'RE STILL NOT MOVING!"

"Not _yet,_" Jack smirked matter-of-factly. "You're forgetting…I'm Jack Sparrow."

"Yes, and I'm Maribelle Winthrop," she said sarcastically. "Now that we're properly introduced, you must excuse me. I'm overdue to throw myself down to swim with the fishes in Davy Jones' Locker!" She began to stalk around to the side of the ship when Jack grabbed hold of the back of her dress.

"A tad suicidal?" Jack chuckled. Maribelle whirled around and glared at him.

"Mother's love, Jack, who do you think you are?" Maribelle snapped. "Don't you _dare _think that you don't owe me! I saved your bloody life, and don't you forget it! And now, _I'm _the one who's in trouble, and you're making it sound like a bloody joke!"

"You're not getting caught, love," Jack chuckled, "Not while I'm captain."

"Yes, and some captain _you _are," Maribelle muttered. "You think you'd realize something after being on the receiving end of _two _mutinies- -"

"Tha's enough," Jack said darkly. If there was anything that the man simply wouldn't tolerate, it was anyone even suggesting that his loss of the Black Pearl was in any way his fault. Maribelle looked at him and smiled bitterly.

"What're you going to do, _Captain_?" She said mockingly. "What's the price for telling the truth on this ship?"

"If you fancy being thrown out to the sharks, then by all means, don't shut your mouth yet," Jack said. Maribelle was still undaunted.

"I'd prefer it over being on a ship with a so-called captain who doesn't give a damn about anything more than having a bloody good time," Maribelle said coldly.

"If you'd just shut your mouth for the amount of time it takes for me to think, we'd have left already," Jack snapped, "And while we're so nicely _telling the truth _at the moment, let me inform you of something else. Ye have _no _place telling me my faults as a captain, seeing as ye don't even have the slightest clue what to do- -"

"Rubbish!" Maribelle yelled as Jack walked away to the wheel. He kept his back turned to her, and Maribelle then realized that she was being ignored. "You'd better not get me killed, Sparrow!" she added as she stormed off to her cabin.

"_You'd better not get me killed, Sparrow,_" Jack mimicked to himself, chuckling bitterly. "If I tried, to kill that girl, she'd stay alive just to spite me,"

Meanwhile, Maribelle had thrown herself onto her bed, crying. Within minutes, she was sobbing in near hysteria. She had gotten in far over her head, and for once hadn't the slightest idea who to blame aside from herself.

And what of the others on the ship? They had all gone on this silly crusade to save her, only to be caught before they even had a _chance _of escaping? If the French ship on the horizon was indeed Pernot, Maribelle felt assured that they'd all be killed, and their deaths would stay on Maribelle's conscience until the day she died.

"Bloody good pirate you are," she growled to herself. "Heart of a lion," she added sarcastically. How disappointed her father would be if he really could see her now. He hadn't raised a traitor for a daughter, and yet that was exactly what she had become.

And, most complicated of all, there was Jack. Truth be told, Maribelle wasn't angry with him. She had nothing to blame him for. But she felt angry with the way he acted. They could all very well be killed or taken hostage before sunrise, and he seemed so blissfully unaware of it. If they were captured, and Jack managed to go without getting killed, he'd hate her. And somehow, that would be the worst punishment of all.

Maribelle was nearly thrown from her cot by a jolt- -the ship was moving again. She threw open her door, wiping her eyes, and saw Jack standing at what would be considered the bow of that tiny ship, looking out over the water.

"We seem to be moving now, love, right on course. Are ye through complaining?" he said sardonically. Maribelle's mouth hung open in complete amazement.

"I don't know how you do it, _captain_," she said, now in a very reverent tone. "Jack, I'm sorry."

"Of course ye are," he said sarcastically. "'S far easier to apologize now that ye know that I've just saved your behind again, isn't it?" Maribelle just stared at him in obvious puzzlement. "Oh, don't give me yer helpless, innocent, 'I've been so oppressed!' expression, Maribelle. I'm a pirate, not a bloody knight of the round table."

"Yes, and I'm a lady, not a pirate," she said, completely serious. Jack looked at her in obvious surprise. He'd expected to start another blazing row with her, and had every reason to do so. "But I owe you _nothing_." She added, her eyes meeting his with an expression of defiance. "I never _asked _you to come for me, Sparrow. I knew full well the things I was throwing myself into."

"I have a speck of news for ye, love. Being a martyr doesn't make ye better than everyone else. It just makes stupid because ye refuse the chance to save your own hide for someone who wouldn't do the same for you,"

"I didn't do it for _you, _as odd as that sounds," she said calmly. "I don't know _you_, Captain Sparrow, and I know better than to risk my life for a stranger. I risked my life for a little boy who I knew, years ago. A boy who would've done the same for me. When I walked into that hostel in Tortuga looking for you, I expected to see that boy, but I think I knew that the Jack Sparrow I knew had long since died."

"You're damn right that boy died," Jack said resentfully. "He died the day ye decided that ye were too _good _to be a pirate, and chose the easy life instead."

"Bloody hell, Jack, what would you have done?" she said, running a hand through her windswept hair. "I was a _child_! Would you have turned down a home back then?"

"Yeah, I would've," Jack snapped, "Because _I _was a real pirate. I didn't want to be tied down, but apparently you did."

"Well, then maybe I really wasn't a pirate," Maribelle said. "Because I'm not too much of a coward to stay in one place long enough to care about someone,"

"I stayed in that bloody orphanage long enough to start caring about you, didn't I?" Jack said matter-of-factly, looking out to sea as the tiny boat sailed on jerkily. "And see how much good _that's _done us both?"

"_Caring _about me?" Maribelle scoffed. "Oh, please! Were you really expecting us to be _friends forever_?"

"You swore," Jack mumbled, so softly that Maribelle could just barely hear him. "Ye think ye were such a bloody _angel _back then, so why would ye tell a lie?"

"So that's it then?" Maribelle said, feeling pure emotion rising in the back of her throat. "You think I'm a liar?" She felt the hairs on the back her neck prickle as she tried to keep the tears back. "Fine. At the next port we find, you can just leave me, and go off on another _grand adventure_."

"Ye think I'd drop ye that way?" Jack asked as Maribelle was turning to go back to bed. "After everything I just told ye- -"

"Damn right I think you'd it," Maribelle interrupted harshly, her back still turned to him. "Because you're a _pirate_. You said it yourself. You don't need to do anyone any favors. You don't care- -"

By the end of her sentence, she jumped in surprise when she felt Jack's hand touch hers. She whirled around and saw him standing behind her, his eyes fierce.

"Odd, isn't it?" he said vaguely, looking straight at her as she returned with gaze with near-defiance. "How exactly is it that every time I do an inherent good deed, it looks absolutely horrid? And then, regardless of my _obvious _good character," he added with a discreet snicker, "It's so incredibly implausible that I care about anyone?"

"You think I believe you for a moment?" Maribelle said, shaking her head. "Someone so talented with words…so talented with women…"

"I'm flattered, love," Jack chuckled. "But one who's so often insincere will always have his moments in which he sincerely must have some sincerity,"

"You're not fooling me, Sparrow," Maribelle said, crossing her arms. "You want me gone as soon as it's convenient. That's just the way you are,"

"Just the way I am," Sparrow nodded stoically. "I suppose ye can read me like a book, then?"

"You're damn right I can," Maribelle said, not at all relishing in the fact.

"Read me now, then, if yer freckled little bottom is that omnipotent," he said challengingly. Maribelle stared at him with her jaw gone slightly slack. "What am I thinking, then, Winthrop?"

Maribelle's entire countenance trembled slightly as her eyes probed into Jack's praying for some kind of a sign, some reprieve from his heinous request that she had all but asked for. She found nothing.

"You've got me, then. You're an enigma, Sparrow," she sighed, shaking her head. "A complete enigma."

"Then let me enlighten you," he said, tugging her arm gently and pulling her closer to him. Then, his other hand came with a timid firmness to hold the back of her neck and pull her face to his.

Maribelle wondered why she wasn't trying to get away. She felt that she ought to hit him across the face and lock herself in her cabin until they reached land, but she couldn't. All that registered in her mind while he kissed her was that she absolutely had to kiss him back.

She heard the sound of a door opening, and she jumped back quickly. Only then did she realize that their heated joining had moved them to the door of Jack's cabin. He stared at her with a lopsided grin and nodded toward the door. "Just a step away, love," he shrugged.

Maribelle couldn't think straight. Her mind was swimming, floating in its sea of troubles. Now, if only for once, she'd let herself drown in it. She pushed Jack the rest of the way through the door, kissing him as she locked the door behind her...

* * *

A/N's

::ahem:: Yes, they...erm..._do it_, so to speak, but I don't like being explicit, so imagine all the little niceties however you wish.

**LoLoMo**: Well, I do believe that Jack made up for _ruining the moment _last chapter, didn't he? And sadly enough, I wasn't inspired enough to throw Will and Elizabeth in for comic relief

**DugaDugabowbow: **: D

**Dawnie-7: **Well, I guess that no woman can resist the _orders _of Captain Jack Sparrow, neh?

**Jack'sFreedom: **Well, looks like Maribelle couldn't be stubborn forever. But wait until you see what kind of junk they get into _now..._

**EmpathyIsMe: **Oh, Maribelle doesn't just like it. She's loving it, at some level. Wouldn't you be loving it too?

Gah...maybe it'll be another long wait until the next chapter...Sorry!


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